Mirecourt violin repair 7 – Setting up and finishing

Still a fair bit if work here – new sound-post, new end button, new pegs – shaped and fitted – nut shimmed and re-glued, saddle refitted, new bridge cut, and new strings fitted.

Here is nut being shimmed and refitted

Now for the soundpost. itting the soundpost. By tying two threads to the soundpost, with one leading out through each F-hole, the soundpost can be guided into position and nudged into place with the soundpost setting tool. The threads allow for rapid retrieval when the post falls out of place. The end-button was not yet fitted, enabling a good visual sighting to ensure the sound post was vertical in length and breadth.

The soundpost was cut to length after using a soundpost gauge to determine the length, and was shaped at each end to fit the curvature of the instrument.

Then the peg holes were lightly reamed to the correct taper, the pegs were tapered in a shaper – which is like a large pencil sharpener, then the pegs were cut to length and fitted to the peg box. Then with a pencil I marked the position of the string holes, then removed the pegs and drilled them with a 1.5mm drill and countersunk each end of the hole with a round file.